Latest / Epic Entrepreneurs / "Burn the Ships: Building a Business with No Plan B" with Andy Hegg & John Stein of Vets Junk Removal and Dumpsters

Transcript

"Burn the Ships: Building a Business with No Plan B" with Andy Hegg & John Stein of Vets Junk Removal and Dumpsters · Epic Entrepreneurs

• 0:32
  SPEAKER_04: Hi everyone, welcome to this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_04: I'm Cliff McCray with Action Coach Business Growth Partners, where we work with local business owners to turn big ideas into real scalable growth.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_04: Today I'm excited to be joined by Andy Haig and John Stein with Vets, Junk Removal, and Dumpsters.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_04: So Andy and John, thanks for being here.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_04: How are you all doing today?
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, hey, uh, thanks for the invite.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: We really appreciate uh the opportunity to talk with y'all, and uh uh we're doing good.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Doing good, excited to be here.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Excited to be here.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_04: All right, perfect.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, we're excited to have you.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_04: So let's go ahead and jump right in.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_04: So, yeah, for those who may not know it yet, who is Andy Heg and John Stein and what is Vets Junk Removal and Dumpsters?
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so uh yeah, I'm Andy.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'm the owner of Vets Junk Removal and Dumpsters here in upstate South Carolina.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I started the business uh right around two years ago, a little shy of two years, and uh we've been uh we've been going since then.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: And so uh Vet's junk removal is you know it's pretty straightforward.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: We're we're a junk removal company.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: So somebody will call me, they have junk, we remove it.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um and we we provide uh safe and legal transportation and disposal of uh the you know the items and uh trash that the the client has.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: And uh so we kind of serve a handful of avatars as far as who's calling us, whether that be commercial or residential.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: And uh yeah, that's pretty much it.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll let John introduce himself and kind of what he does.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_03: So hey, I'm John Stein, and I'm the business development representative for uh veget junk removal, so with a main focus in commercial.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_03: So I focus on going to property management companies, uh apartment communities, and um basically soliciting our services in a way that we can help them so make sure that their communities are cleaner and looking fresh.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_03: And um, and so yeah, that's basically what I do.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_04: Perfect, perfect.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_04: Now to get on the personal side, other than the work stuff, you know, who are you all as people?
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, you guys got any interest or hobbies or anything?
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: So uh um I've got a beautiful family, uh, my wife Laura, my son Ben, um, and then we've got uh baby girl due this May.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so we're ending.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate it.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um we're really excited to meet her.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: And uh yeah, we we live like an hour south.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: We're in the middle of moving right now, like we just got moved in and we're we're unpacking everything.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: But we live about an hour south of Greenville, still an upstate, just a little kind of little ways out.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: But we uh we kind of have a small farm out there with uh a mini zoo, pretty much, is what I kind of describe going on up there.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: And uh yeah, so we do that.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: I like sports, I like you know, kind of all the basic dude stuff, uh like working with my hands, and uh and uh yeah, that's a little bit about me.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_04: Clemson fan.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, go Tigers.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: I kind of I'm so I'm from Chicagoland originally, but uh I was never really into college football, as much as that's hard to admit.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: But uh once I once I moved down here, I kind of adopted Clemson, seeing as I I didn't really have a college team that I rooted for.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: So um, being that everybody here uh watches the Tigers, I I just kind of adopted them.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, go Tigers.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_04: Nice.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_03: Yep.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_03: So John?
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah, my name is John.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah, my uh my wife and I, we live over in Greer, towards the Lake Robinson area, and uh we actually have no kids right now, but we actually have one on the way, a baby boy, and uh really excited about that coming in September.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_03: And uh we basically, I mean, we like to hike, we like to uh walk with our dogs.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_03: Um we've got a golden retriever and a lab pit mix, and they have been our world up until uh we've gotten pregnant, so uh really excited.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_03: But uh yeah, we like to watch football, go tigers.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_03: Uh our nice uh a bunch of our family has has gone there, and uh one recently graduated this past year, another is gonna be graduating in the next year and a half.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_03: Um so really love watching football.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_03: Uh I like watching basketball.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_03: I'm a Lakers fan, been that way since uh a little kid.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_03: And uh and yeah, I played uh soccer and rugby in college, and so like a lot of sports, trying to get into golf right now, but uh not very good.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_03: It's a slow process on that one, but we'll get there eventually.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_04: Go LeBron and the Lakers, man.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_04: Do you think they got a chance to win it all this year?
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_03: Um I think uh I I think they're definitely gonna um do well.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_03: I don't know, I think they may get to the finals, um, but you know, LeBron's LeBron's still playing at a high level.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_03: I think that he just needs to uh needs to just not keep putting his body on the line and like he did the other night, and uh you know he's diving for balls and like, dude, you're 40 something years old, you need to call that.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_03: Um but uh but I think they have a decent shot for sure.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_04: Okay.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_04: All right.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_04: So yeah, take us back to the very beginning.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_04: You know, what made you say, yep, I'm doing this, I'm starting that, and I'm starting this business, and I'm starting that particular business in this industry.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I uh for a little bit of background, um, I did eight years in the Army Reserve.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so Army Reserve, for those who don't know, is is pretty similar to the National Guard where you uh you serve one weekend per month and then you have like you know once per year training that you do.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: And so I did that for eight years from 2016 to 2024.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um I was a transportation officer and then uh moved kind of into training and operations towards the last few years of of my military career.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, all the while I worked for a large uh ag co-op in uh the energy wholesale.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um basically we would wholesale you know, refined fuel and propane um to distributors, and so I did that for a while, had a nice like kind of work-from-home job, and uh was was kind of loving it.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: And then about right around two years ago, this time, something I don't know.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: I I the way I describe it is like God put something in in my heart to start my own business, and I didn't really know what that looked like, what that meant, what what I was gonna do with it.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: And because I you know I was always security-minded, like I have very security-minded parents, like they both had really um well-paying, you know, corporate type jobs.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so that was kind of how I was raised, but had just like this kind of itch to do my own thing, and I couldn't figure out what it was gonna be until one of the guys from my unit who is it's hard to describe, he's not my direct boss, but he kind of like ran the staff.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, his name's Zach Wiley.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: He approached me and was like, hey man, like I've he found out where I lived and was like, I've been trying to start a location for junk removal up in that area for for some time.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: I just haven't found the right person to do it.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I was like, man, I junk removal just doesn't really sound like my cup of tea, so I think I'm I'm good.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: And he's like, All right, well, if you change your mind, let me know.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: And he he reached out again, was like, hey, just job job request popped up, wanted to see if you wanted to give it a shot.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know, I did it, and he came down and helped me out, just kind of showed me the ropes a little bit.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: We did it, and uh I was like, man, I you know what, I could kind of see this working.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: And uh so we I didn't form any sort of official agreement uh for a little while still, but he would send me some jobs here and there.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: I got a small truck and trailer, was hauling junk, you know, before work and after work uh for a little while, and uh eventually it was just kind of sticking, and I was like, man, the supply and demand's here, the need for it's here, the like logistically, this could make a lot of sense uh for this community, and and I could see a niche need for it here.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: And uh so I just I jumped in kind of head first.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I would say that would be December of 2024, um, was when I signed my official like franchise agreement, which that's junk removal is a franchise-based model, so we have locations kind of throughout the south southeast and a couple of different areas in in the United States.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: But uh yeah, so I just jumped in and and started doing it uh about a year ago uh is when I quit my job and started doing it full time.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: So that's kind of how we got started.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_04: Nice, nice.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_04: Now, were you confident on betting on yourself?
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: Or yeah, I would say so.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: I I've always had a passion for customer service and customer care.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um you know, I never had sales experience, I never had, you know, I never knew how to like generate demand for for a business, but I've always known like I had a handful of customers who would call in and like request for me specifically over the phone, or they'd have an issue that I would solve that somebody else couldn't solve.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, problem solving with customer service will get demand, it'll keep demand, and it'll it'll uh help grow the business too.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: So I was betting on myself to be able to eventually figure that out.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that's kind of how it played out.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_04: Nice, nice.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_04: And it sounds like like you said, you you're you know, you're a problem solver.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_04: You like to get to the root of the problem and solve it for every customer.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: The root man.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_04: All right.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_04: So what would you say is something people don't understand about a business until they're in it?
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: I would say, especially starting out, and I'm speaking from somebody who's not quite two years in, so um take this for what it's worth.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I can't speak for somebody who's 10 years in, but as somebody who's almost two years in, I never understood really just how much like person of personal risk and investment was involved as an entrepreneur and a business owner.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, you can kind of think about it from that perspective, but once you're once you're really in it, you see how much I've had to, you know, front personal cash, finances, um, and things like that to make this possible um to get to the point where I am now.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, going into it, I didn't really understand that that would have to happen per se.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: But the more you grow in scale, the more the operational need grows, the more you have need for you know more money.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: And so you just kind of figure out the next step as you go.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: But uh that's that's kind of where I'm at with it.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_04: Okay, okay.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_04: Have you ever been close to to quitting and going back to your your previous job?
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't say quitting.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um I I think they filled my spot, so I'm not sure I've got somewhere to go back to uh my situation was unique.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: I sort of created my own remote role, and I I think they were eventually gonna um they wanted they wanted people back in the office, so let's put it that way.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: I don't I don't know that I had a spot to go back to, so I kind of burned the ships, let's put it that way.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, if you ever heard this story of you want to take an island, burn the ships, give give no way out.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, I I certainly I think I'm a marketable person as far as employment, but I I wouldn't say I've considered going back.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: I would say there's times where it feels nearly impossible to get out of a situation and then you know God pulls you out or the right thing kind of aligns to to make it happen.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: And so there's certainly times, you know, where it's four or five in the morning and and you know, I don't want to get up because my body hurts from the day before.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: I can remember very specific days where you know I I started work at eight o'clock Eastern and so I'd have to get up at four to drive an hour to do three hours of work and then drive an hour home um just to work my full-time job and then finish and go back to finish what I was the junk work I was doing uh that morning.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: And and there were certainly days where it felt like, man, why why am I trying to kill myself here?
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: But I don't think I've considered this point, you know, almost two years in returning to like my, you know, some sort of like company position that's if that makes sense.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, no, it does, it does.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_04: So and you know, and and obviously this is hypothetical, but if you had to start again from absolute scratch, you know, let's say you had no brand, no clients, and no safety net, what would you do differently the second time around starting your business?
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: I I would have quit my job sooner.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: As weird as that sounds, I was really trying to I was trying to like almost side by side my my corporate salary income with like my junk income to where I could sort of step out of that right into the same salary I was making.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: And that's just not realistic.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um I was trying to have all sorts of like you know subscription or what we call subscription basically recurring like once a week, once every other week type of work lined up before I made that jump.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: And what it did was basically kill me because I was working, I was doing you know, 16 hour days for you know, far too long.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um I couldn't I couldn't focus on growing my business because I had to to focus on doing the jobs that were available.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I didn't have the money to employ anybody yet, and so it was just me doing the work and me doing everything, and um I would have quit my job sooner so I had time to like focus on actually growing my business and not doing the physical work of it.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: And then I probably would have started sooner.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um I mean I didn't do this on I'm 31, coming on 32 here in May, and uh you know it's certainly a lot harder at this point than it was when I was 18, 19, 20 when I had you know no mortgage and um bills and all that stuff.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: Like I would have certainly started sooner had I could I redo it.
• 14:44
  unknown: Okay.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_04: Now, are you naturally more of an entrepreneur or an employee at heart?
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: I think I've changed.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: I think I started very security-minded and then um I I really think God was just trying to get me out of my comfort zone.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so like I said about two years ago, that switch sort of just flipped um unbeknownst to me.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like I wasn't I wasn't seeking it.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: It just something hit me one day and I was like, I need to I need to get out of this and start my own thing.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: So naturally I think I would lean security, but I've pushed myself uh more towards the entrepreneur mindset, which is I I just think workout has me right now.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_04: So when did you realize you couldn't do everything?
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_04: Do you have any particular stories?
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: When I when did I realize I couldn't do everything?
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_02: Mm-hmm.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: As in the delegate.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, okay.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um that I couldn't do everything.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um I was at a customer location.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: Now I'm a I'm a disabled veteran as well, so like my I have um, you know, basically my service caused physical injuries to my body that you know the Department of Veteran Affairs says that you know caused my disability.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'm not the biggest guy, not the strongest guy, but I also have some physical limitations just of my own body.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I was at a job, this was when I was just me still, um, no employees, had some people that would occasionally help me here and there, but uh I was picking up like a wet mattress, which if you don't know because you've never picked up a wet mattress, they're incredibly heavy and difficult to maneuver into a trailer.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I just tweaked my back the right way, and I I could feel it when it happened.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I basically just got stuck at this property because I I couldn't move, I couldn't climb in and out of my truck.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: It took me probably an hour to get it back in the truck.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: Thankfully that mattress was like the last thing I had, so I was able to finish the job.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: But um, like physically, I was like, man, I can't keep doing this to myself.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um and so like that was the the day I made the decision to to hire um to hire or to never work on my own again because I don't want to, you know, keep doing that to myself.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um that was me personally, it was more physical limitation than anything, but we're a service industry that you know it requires the ability to lift heavy stuff.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: So um different industry may have a different type of scenario, but for us, uh for my story at least, you know, I I just physically could not do the work on my own anymore.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_04: So how do you personally handle stepping away from the business, like taking a vacation?
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I had I haven't taken a vacation in quite a few years.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: I think uh I took a I took like a weekend trip uh two years ago with some friends, but this was I didn't have any clients at this point that I had a responsibility to.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: At least at that point.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um I mean it this early on, I just kind of the way I describe it is like I've got my notes to the ground and I'm I'm working incredibly hard right now and I'm okay with that.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I work pretty much seven days a week to some degree, um to just to get this thing to keep this thing afloat.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's probably the case for most people starting out is it just it requires that because if you're not going forward, you are going backward.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: And eventually, you know, there the cog becomes set and you've got your systems, and you like I could make that that jump to step away and you know, uh do something outside of work.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: But for me at this point in time, I'm just not I'm not thinking about, yeah, when can I when can I take a week vacation without looking at my phone?
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's just not realistic.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_04: So yeah, so I get it.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_04: I get it.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_04: You're at that point in the, you know, and you can still fairly new.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, looking back, you know, and and hopefully you can answer this question, but if you can't, just let me know.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_04: But looking back, what do you attribute most to your growth so far?
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: You're fairly new, but yeah, I would say 100% my people, my employees, like without them, I would be I'd be square one.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, these guys set they set my, and I say these guys because I have uh just my team right now at this point is all is all males, but these guys work incredibly hard for us, for our customers.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um they um, you know, that they know my customers on a first name basis.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like they my customers know them.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um and they're the ones like you know, as much as I'm the one doing like the behind-the-scenes stuff, these guys are are boots on ground for me.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: And that's my my labor, and also John included.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: Like these guys they show up wearing our logo, our brand, and they represent us.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: So if if you know I can walk the walk and talk the talk all I want, but when it comes down to it, uh the guys who represent our brand are the ones who are making it so that we get that second, third, fourth, fifth call.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: And uh without them, I'd be I'd be nowhere.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_04: Okay, okay.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_04: So let's dig into that a little bit more.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_04: So, you know, as far as your team, and you said you have you know all males, but when you're building a team, and let's say you're getting ready to hire somebody to come work for you, what traits matter more to you than what's on someone's resume?
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's a great question.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um I would say that the number one thing I'm looking for is is character, and then number two is coachability.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_00: Because if I have those two things, I can I can train you to do just about anything.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: But if you come in with you know a hot resume but you can't work on a team or you are selfish or you're not able to be coached in the way that I want things done, like then that's not really any help to me.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: But what I looked for in the guys that were, you know, I was bringing on was can you show up on time?
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: Can you have a positive attitude?
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: Can you have a smile on your face when you're dealing with my customers?
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: And can you be coached when you know you do something that I is not in line with what you know the service standards we have?
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: Can you be can you be coached through that and accept that and not just fight with your ego?
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, I've had good hires, I've had great hires, I've got really great hires, and I've got bad hires, and and you know, I just made made those mistakes along the way to learn what to look for and what not to look for.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: You know, resumes certainly gives a bit of a an uh a picture, but until you get get out there, meet somebody face to face, see what time they're showing up and um how they work, uh for me that's what I was looking for.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: And so and then I just had uh I had my guys start referring people like, hey, this person will be a great fit, and then that's how you know I've got you know this this crew of guys who've basically it's a chain reaction of they've well I started with one, I got a referral for another, and then a third referral, and so like I've got a truck full with people who want to work with with each other, which is awesome.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_04: Nice, nice.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_04: So is that true?
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_04: That's everybody's referrals?
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, really at this point I've had, like I said, I've had some come and go that were not that case.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_00: But what I love about referrals is I'm not gonna get a referral from somebody unless they want to work with them, right?
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: So you're you know, a crew member is not gonna want to bring on somebody who's lazy and slow and has a bad attitude.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_00: So if somebody says, hey, this person would be a great fit, it's like, okay, well, let's, you know, if you think that, that means you're willing to work with this type of person.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: And that that seems to work out better than you know putting something on a deed where somebody's gonna call me that I don't know or apply that I don't know.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um and John was the same way.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: John John and I met at a a uh trade show, and he just had a great personality, and and he reached out to me after, and and uh there was just seemed to be like a really good fit for uh his personality, his character with what we needed to.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_00: So, like for me, like indeed or LinkedIn or wherever you would post a job could certainly do something great.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_00: But uh at the end of the day, uh networking is a great way, and and referrals is a great way to find the right people too.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, no, I agree with that.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_04: So, you know, and then digging into that a little bit more.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_04: What's it do you have anything that you do intentionally to keep your workplace positive, motivated, and productive, you know, especially like during like a stressful time or season?
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, mind you, I'm not perfect, but I do I do my best.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_00: But uh the the thing I try I've tried to instill in my business is that I'm not just using my employees to make money.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: I actually I want them to make as much money as they can.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: I want their lives to be improved and to be changed and to to uh you know be for the better because they worked here.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: And and so I've I've do everything that I can to invest in their personal lives and help them with things outside of work and uh be available to talk to them and be accommodating and flexible because I know as much as I work, you know, at the end of the day, everybody's got a life outside of that's junk removal.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: And and so, you know, I'm not saying it doesn't get stressful, but you know, when it does, at least my my employees know that I've got their back and I know that they've got mine if if it came down to it.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_04: Okay.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_04: Now now digging into your business a little bit more, what you know, and I'm not sure if you know this, but let's see if you do, what would you say is your biggest bottleneck from stopping your business to grow or get to the next level?
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, that's a great question.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um as far as when you're scaling, especially in the service industry, as a sole proprietor, which is what what we are right now, um, you know, this early on, lenders don't look at you as legit until you're two years in.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_00: They want to see two years of tax return, they want to see steady growth, and so when when you're a sole proprietor, all the financing is is on you.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_00: And so my kind of my my personal the way I look at things is I'd rather not buy like used equipment and number one, look sloppy, but number two, have to pay for maintenance, number three, you know, not represent the brand well.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so I like to find good equipment, new equipment, and stuff that is gonna keep keep us on the move, right?
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_00: And but but there's limitations with that because lenders will look only so far.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, until I've got two years' tax returns, which is what I'm coming up to, I've started having some conversations which are gonna be super, super helpful for us uh scaling coming into our our third you know tax year.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_00: But when you're just getting started in a service business, you know, you have to work with what you got.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: So when I first started, I bought a 1500 uh GMC Sierra and got a little five by seven cage trailer and I was hauling that way.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_00: And but the bottleneck there was I was going to the dump every after every job pretty much because I didn't have the I didn't have the size trailer to fit multiple jobs into one trailer.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_00: And so now we're kind of getting to the same spot on a next level where it's like I've got you know one two tr one to two trucks and trailers out at a time, and sometimes I'm not I don't have enough space in the day to get to what I need to get to.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: So uh there's sort of like a bottleneck of I've there's a good amount of supply coming in, and then meeting the demand is is tough at this stage.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_00: But this is kind of I think a spot where a lot of businesses get to where you're just getting to that two-year mark, and you know, I gotta pay my bills at home and I gotta also grow my business.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: So uh finding that balance between how do I how do I scale and how do I you know how do I grow.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_00: If I was if I was you know 18, 19 years old, and I'd probably find a floor to sleep on somewhere and and just you know grind away, have no personal expenses, you know, keep my costs low.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, I'm 31, I've got a family, I've got a mortgage, and so that stuff has to be considered as well.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_00: So it's certainly situational, but for us, it's definitely like where we're at in the in the scaling process.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, no, I love that.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_04: I love that answer.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_04: All right, so we're gonna head into what's called the quick fire round.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_04: So basically how this works is I'm going to give you one word, and then I want you to tell me the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear each word in regards to running your business, and then expand upon what you chose and and you know, explain it a little bit more.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_04: Does that make sense?
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so just one word answer and then kind of give a little bit of an expounding on some insight into why you why you chose that and what you mean by it.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_00: Can I have John popcorn in with me like every other?
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah, that'd be great.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_04: All right, perfect.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_04: Yes, I'm just gonna throw the answer out, and you whoever answers, that's fine.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_04: Or throw the word out, I'm sorry.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_04: Um all right, first word is growth.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: Struggle.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I I think when when you say the word growth, I think of like going to the gym and and working out.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_00: Is that the growth doesn't come until the muscle struggles and until the muscle is torn.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think the most growth has come on the crappy days for us where it's soaking wet, raining, we've been working 12 hours, and uh I'm exhausted, and I know I have to do it the next day, and um, or you know, we get a flat tire and we gotta pull over and change it.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_00: And um, I I really think the the good days are good and they make you feel good, um, but the real growth comes from the sucky days.
• 28:56
  unknown: Hiring.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_01: What do you think?
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_01: Hiring.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_00: Do you want me to take that one?
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, okay.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna take this one.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: So hiring, um, and I'm gonna say this word again in character.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, for me, it's all about finding the right fit because they're the people who are on the front lines for you are are gonna set your culture.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um eventually, you know, I'll be I'll be removed from the direct customer interaction on a day-to-day basis in a lot of cases.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_00: So if I'm not hiring the right people based on how they fit, how their character is, uh then then my customers are gonna paint us with uh a picture of what their experience is.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_01: Stress.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_00: Let me take this one.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, I'm gonna take this one.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um healthy.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I if for me, the spot where I came to and starting my business and and quitting my job to do this full-time came from a place of stress.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're if you're not stressed or you're not, you know, constantly thinking about as far as an entrepreneur goes, thinking about your business, you probably don't care.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_00: And for me, I have four full-time, sorry, hang on.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_00: I have four full-time, you know, employees that I need to think about that they gotta pay their bills, and they're relying on me to to be able to do that.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_00: And so if I'm not stressed about that, then do I really care is the question I should be asking.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_01: Leadership.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_01: I would say leadership frontline.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, for me, um, I'm always customer facing, so every single day I'm uh taking the charge to make sure that we are gaining new business every single day.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_03: And if I don't lead out that every single day, I mean we can just plateau.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_03: And so if I'm not hustling and leading that charge, then we could just hit like a like a plateau point, and uh and so if I'm not out there constantly pushing myself to gain us more business and make more connections, then um and kind of leading that charge, then uh you know we can we can hit a stagnant point.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_01: That's a great one.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't expect that.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_01: It's fleeting.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_00: And uh you know, obviously we we have I have a business to make money.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_00: I plan to make, you know, a lot of money.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm more focused on who I'm becoming in this journey than I am making money.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, I like that.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_01: Next word is risk.
• 32:55
  SPEAKER_00: Necessary and it's necessary for growth.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_00: Without risk there's no growth.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_00: Without risk there's no reward.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_00: And for me as a as a follower of Jesus, the the risk is a is evidence of my faith that God is gonna provide for me, my business, my family, my employees.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_01: And the last word is freedom.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_01: I think there's uh free so the the one word I would use is limited.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I think there's there's we talk about freedom for entrepreneurs to to not have to answer to somebody um, right?
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_00: Like I no longer have a boss who I directly report to because I work for myself.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_00: But I have less freedom now than I ever did working in the corporate world um or working a normal job.
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_00: And sure I set my own hours, but I have never worked harder, I've never worked longer, and I've never cared more about my work than I do now, and with that requires less freedom at the end of the day because I need to make sure that I'm doing the right things to be able to grow this business and you know take care of my guys and their families and my family.
• 34:34
  unknown: Okay.
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_04: I love that, love that.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_04: That's a great some great answers.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_04: I appreciate that for the quick fire round.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_04: So so what would you say is a controversial opinion in your industry?
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_00: Specifically in my industry?
• 34:53
  SPEAKER_01: Controversial opinion in junk removal.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'll throw this out there, not that I necessarily uh ascribe to it, but because my guys are actually doing this right right as we speak here.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_00: But I think I think uh selling or recycling or you know, donating items that you get in junk removal is less resp less possible than a lot of people think.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_00: I actually used to buy you know, junk I used to buy stuff off Facebook Marketplace all the time and flip it and sell it.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I used to buy from guys who did junk removal and things like that, and um, you know, I'd show up and they'd have stuff kind of like all over the lawn, or like, and then you gotta consider you know, your your time.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, sorry, you have to consider your time that it takes to then reload all of that and then take it to either a recycling center, disposal facility, things like that.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_00: And so I know a lot of people, like every time I tell people I'm in the junk junk industry, people tell me like, oh, you probably get a lot of stuff that's worthwhile or valuable or whatever, and and honestly, the vast majority of it is just is trash.
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I've taken a lot of stuff to donation centers that don't take it, and then then I've wasted you know an entire hour to two hours of you know driving around and paying people to drive around to then have to go, you know, dispose of it anyway.
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_00: So I, you know, as much as I'd love to keep as much out of the landfill as I can, which I do, it's it's always not it's not always possible.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it's not something that I look to do every single job we're doing.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_04: Okay, okay.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_04: So, and and I want you to be as candid and this, you know, as honest as you can with this answer, because I feel like this is a really, really important one.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_04: But let's say, you know, let's say a small business owner is listening to the podcast episode today and listening to you both Andy and John, and you know, maybe they're not having a great 2026 so far, they're feeling stuck or overwhelmed.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_04: Um, you know, the first quarter of the year is not going out revenue-wise like they would expect.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_04: What's a piece of advice you would give to them today?
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_00: I would say stop focusing on the money and start focusing on who you're becoming.
• 37:22
  SPEAKER_00: And the less you think about every penny, every dollar, and the more you think about how is this forming me into a better person, into a better friend, into a better husband, wife, son, daughter, father, mother, whatever, the more opportunity you're gonna have to grow and then overcome that situation, right?
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_00: And in when you're in the gym, you can't bench 100 pounds until you can bench a hundred pounds.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_00: And then suddenly you can bench a hundred pounds, and then you can bench 120 pounds, 150 pounds, whatever you name it.
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_00: You can't you can't overcome it until you overcome it, and then you overcome it, and suddenly you're on to the next challenge.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so don't don't focus on the money.
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, the money is important, it's how you pay your bills, it's how you operate the business.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_00: If you focus on who you're becoming and the goals you have of the person that you want to be, the money is gonna work itself out.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, I will always I'll say this unapologetically trust God, put your faith in Jesus, and trust that God is gonna provide for you and he will.
• 38:35
  SPEAKER_00: Matthew 6 33 says, seek after the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_00: And Jesus is telling his his followers that they need to not worry about the things of this world, but to focus and put their eyes on to God and seek after him, and God will provide.
• 38:53
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, I live my life by that.
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_04: Nice.
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_04: Any anything you want to add, John?
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_03: Um I mean the I mean if really, I mean, it's it it goes back to like what he ended with.
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_03: It's just um, you know, we when you're stuck in a challenge, you know, and it's the you know, first quarter of the year and it's kind of not going super well, it goes back to uh what he ended with is you know your faith in in God, I I believe, because the money's gonna come uh again, and it's just about you know, again, who you're becoming, but it also it says in scripture that uh God uh gives food to the to the sparrows and birds of the air and things like that.
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_03: So uh why not uh and he loves us more than the birds of the air, so why would he uh uh not provide for us?
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_03: So I think that's just what I would add to that.
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_03: Um, is you know, we're we're more of value to God than the birds of the air, and and and he's going to provide for us.
• 40:16
  SPEAKER_03: And so, whatever tough season that you're in, tough quarter that you're in, um, just keep pushing, focusing on who you're becoming, and trusting that the Lord's gonna take care of you.
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I love that.
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_04: I love that.
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_04: Thank you for that answer.
• 40:30
  SPEAKER_04: So, what's next for Vets Junk Removal and Dumpsters?
• 40:33
  SPEAKER_04: What should people be excited about coming up in the near future for your business?
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so we are kind of in that, like I said, the the that expansion where we're working on, you know, putting more trucks on the road, more trailers on the road, and more more uh crew members out there to um hit our service standards.
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_00: And for me, it's really important that we can provide, you know, a quick turnaround, a smooth process, and and simplicity to junk.
• 41:02
  SPEAKER_00: I think there's a a lot of times it gets complicated when you're dealing with junk companies because really uh anybody with a truck and a trailer suddenly can do junk removal, right?
• 41:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so I want to be able to provide a smooth process, an easy process, and a uh fast turnaround to clients who want to use us and who want to use veteran-owned companies.
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_00: And so that that requires expansion, that requires the you know, more wheels on on the pavement.
• 41:30
  SPEAKER_00: So uh we're working to do that, working to kind of expand into other facets of the market here in upstate South Carolina.
• 41:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um and so uh yeah, looking to just keep that up.
• 41:42
  SPEAKER_04: Nice, nice.
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_04: And finally, what's the best way for someone to connect with you or learn more about what you all do?
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_00: 100%.
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yes, you can you can find us.
• 41:51
  SPEAKER_00: Uh there should be a link in the show notes to get to my landing page on our website, but you can find us at vetseasytrash.com uh or you can you can email me anytime at it's greenville at vets easytrash.com, or you can text or call me at 864 326-5767, and uh I will love to talk to you personally, um, get connected with you, whether you're looking to have junk removed somewhere in in upstate uh or really anywhere in the southeast, I'd be happy to connect you with one of our other market owners um as well.
• 42:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, or if you just want to connect and you know make contact, yeah, feel free to text or call me anytime.
• 42:31
  SPEAKER_04: Perfect.
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_04: Any social media.
• 42:34
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's on the horizon.
• 42:36
  SPEAKER_00: I've I've managed to, I've I've never been a social media guy, and that's just a outright I'm just open and honest about that.
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_00: I have social media, rarely use it, uh, but it's something that, you know, it's free marketing, so why am I not doing it?
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's on the horizon.
• 42:51
  SPEAKER_00: I've created the website or the the pages for them.
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_00: I just haven't uh begun you know actually uploading content.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_00: So it is on the horizon here for 2026.
• 43:00
  SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah, for for now, uh nothing at this point.
• 43:03
  SPEAKER_04: I think that's a right this minute.
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_04: Okay.
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_04: All right, perfect.
• 43:06
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 43:06
  SPEAKER_04: So Andy and John, yeah, this has been fantastic.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, thank you so much for coming on and sharing your story, your perspective, and your real behind the scenes of building the business.
• 43:14
  SPEAKER_04: Really appreciate you coming on today.
• 43:15
  SPEAKER_04: This was an excellent conversation.
• 43:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, thank you all so much for having us.
• 43:19
  SPEAKER_00: We really appreciate it.
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's it's been uh a privilege to just kind of uh you know put our story out there.
• 43:24
  SPEAKER_00: We hope it helps somebody.
• 43:26
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, thank you so much for your time.